Milwaukee-based weight loss organization TOPS Club, Inc. has committed $205,000 toward research of obesity and metabolic disorders at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Members of the international organization, which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly, are also providing generations of genetic data to researchers as they study causes behind obesity in families.
Research faculty at MCW’s TOPS Obesity and Metabolic Research Center are investigating the genetics of obesity and obesity’s effects on overall health and wellbeing. Their research extends the work of the late Dr. Ahmed Kissebah, a MCW faculty member and founder of TOPS Research Center.
“TOPS Club, Inc. is proud to add this contribution from our membership to aid in the discovery of effective treatments, potential cures and continuing support of the scientific study of all obesity-related health issues through the TOPS Laboratory at MCW,” said Barbara Cady, president of TOPS Club.
“The contributions TOPS members have made toward our understanding of obesity have been not only generous from a monetary standpoint, but their willingness to share their own family histories have allowed us to make tremendous leaps in the field,” said Dr. Sherry Zhang, assistant professor of medicine at MCW and researcher in the TOPS Center. “We are grateful for their unflagging support.”
Throughout TOPS’ 66-year history, the organization has allocated more than $8.2 million to MCW research.
